Friday, August 07, 2009

Coaches Top 25 Comes Out: Florida No. 1

*When we look back after the final Coaches' poll in December -- the one that informs 33 percent of the BCS title-game pairing -- how much will it matter that Florida and Texas start at No. 1 and 2? Meaning, if both keep winning, they will be VERY difficult to dislodge -- even if USC or another program (like VA Tech or Penn State) runs the table, too.

*How many SIDs were used to fill out this poll?

*How many coaches (or SIDs) ranked teams in an inflated way in order to boost their own perceived strength of schedule?

*How many quality unranked (or low-ranked) teams (especially non-BCS teams) will suffer because the preseason Top 25 sets them back for BCS jockeying, right from the start?

*Is this supposed to be how the coaches think the season will finish? Or how good they think the teams are before any games have been played? Either way, it's kind of ludicrous. (If Boise State goes 12-0, I doubt voters will still have them at No. 16.)

*Do a handful of coaches really think that Texas, Oklahoma and USC are better than Florida? Or is it just the Big 12 coaches, pumping themselves up?

*Who voted Notre Dame in their Top 25? (And we will look back and mock the voters for putting Georgia Tech at No. 15.)

*Why have sports-media pundits not asked USA Today how they can continue to journalistically justify attaching their name and credibility to such an opaque (and cynical) poll?

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.